[ I N T E R V I E W
| S T E F A N I E
H O LT Z E - J E N ]
Stefanie Holtze-Jen, chief currency strategist at DWS Group, talks to The TRADE about the
need for greater diversity in FX and how this will help further the revolution in data analytics.
How adequate do you think the
current levels of diversity and
inclusion are in financial markets?
Stefanie Holtze-Jen: In our in-
dustry, we have long understood
the importance of incorporating
as many different perspectives
and experiences as possible when
forming views or analysing situa-
tions. In order to achieve this you
really need to have a diverse team,
both in terms of gender, ethnicity
and age representation, as well as
more broadly in terms of different
backgrounds and experiences.
Then, even more importantly, you
also need to nurture a culture that
embraces these different perspec-
tives and ensures that everyone on
your team is in a position where
they actually feel safe and enabled
to openly express their individual
points of view. Sadly, this culture
of teamwork and openness to
different opinions is often lacking,
which I think is one of the more
pressing problems we have in the
FX space.
In terms of specific female
representation, we operate in an
industry that relies heavily on the
science, technology, engineering
or mathematics (STEM) skill set.
According to statistics from the
Boston Consulting Group, it starts
with the fact that from the 56%
of university graduates who are
women, only 38% are represented
in the workforce and are particu-
larly underrepresented in jobs that
require STEM skills, including
the financial services industry.
Furthermore, although 50% of
the financial services industry
workforce are women, only 25%
of them are in senior management
positions.
Why is it important for FX
institutions and firms to aim for
greater diversity in their business?
SHJ: Something I feel very strongly
about, and which is why I’m
speaking on a panel at TradeTech
FX on this subject, is that we’re
going through a fourth industrial
revolution right now: the digital
revolution. Everything comes
down to the data set and how well
that data is analysed to enhance
our evidence-based decision mak-
ing, which is especially important
in the financial services world. Yet
only 22% of professionals in the
artificial intelligence space and
only 12% of leading researchers
involved in machine learning are
female. I’m also currently working
to qualify as a Chartered Financial
Data Scientist, but out of 40 indi-
viduals in my programme only two
of us are women. And it is not be-
cause women aren’t capable or less
skilled to do this, but we certainly
need to start identifying where
the needs and opportunities are in
our industry and believing that we
can be a part of that. I was raised
by my parents with the knowl-
edge that there was no difference
between girls and boys in their
abilities and in the opportunities
they can pursue. This is where it
starts and therefore we should all
aim to raise our children with this
stronger sense of self-image and
knowledge that there is no differ-
ence between the sexes. There are
biases in society that we as females
can only remove by proving them
wrong, first and foremost to our-
selves.
Are there any practical steps which
could be taken to encourage greater
levels of diversity and inclusion in
the industry?
SHJ: The most important thing to
remember if you are working in a
rational, numbers and result-ori-
entated STEM environment is that
you need to have your colleagues’
respect to be able to work with
them effectively. But if you are
seen as having achieved that role
not based on your skills or proven
abilities but because your gender
or ethnic heritage helps the com-
pany to meet some quota or other
“Our industry is undergoing rapid changes as
part of the digital revolution and it is more
important than ever to have an edge, to be
better prepared, better educated and to work
better as a team.”
Issue 61 // TheTradeNews.com // 43